A Town in Victoria
by giantessmess
Summary: Charlotte is dealing with her life after Bron has left. An All Saints and Blue Heelers Crossover. Bron and Charlotte, but not in the way you think. If Lesbianism bothers you, don't read it.


Pairing: Charlotte/Bron, in a slightly angsty way  
Notes: set around the 2003/04 series of both shows.  
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

Nothing about Mount Thomas suggested it was worth visiting for any amount of time.

Truthfully, Charlotte hadn't even heard of the place until a year or so ago. And even then the thought of it hadn't exactly thrilled her.

"So you've got the population of what? Five? And your crime rate's worse than Melbourne's?"

"It isn't that bad."

"Well, it sounds like a hole. Glad I've never been there."

Charlottte closed her eyes, realising how horrible that sounded. She didn't have to wonder why she never managed to make many friends these days.   
Way to put your foot in your mouth.

This woman was only trying to be nice. She'd been a patient not too long ago, up on Ward 17. They'd clicked, or at least they seemed to.  
There wasn't any reason for her to continue seeing Charlotte. She didn't need to keep coming in for check-ups. Charlotte wasn't a paediatrician. And even if she had been one, she'd never invite mothers and babies back home with her.  
God, maybe they were friends, then.

_Gold star, Charlotte, you've made a friend._

She watched her guest shift uncomfortably on the couch.

"Sorry," She tried to fix the damage of her last comment. "Really, I didn't mean it," She reached out for the woman's baby. "Want to give your arms a rest?"

Tess had a reserved look about her, but she handed the infant over, cradling its head.

"Well, I don't live there anymore. Say what you like. Had to get out of Victoria. Sometimes you see too much of one thing, y'know?"

Charlotte wondered who this woman thought she was kidding. Shifting interstate with a newborn? As if she wasn't escaping something. She'd been a cop. Maybe she'd arrested the wrong person?

She shook her head.

"And I thought you were trying to sell the place to me."

Tess sighed, looking slightly annoyed.

"You did say you wanted a holiday."

"Not to the crime capital of Australia."

"No, really. It's quite beautiful. There's just something about the place. Like a smell or a taste…"

"Maybe they spike the drinking water?"

The woman shrugged, looking a little hurt. She gazed away from Charlotte, awkwardly.

"There are some nice people there."

Charlotte had done it again. She'd pissed the woman off. Great social skills, she had.

"Look, I was kidding." She smiled, raising her eyebrows. But Tess's face was still contorted into an odd kind of frown.

She wanted to ask if the rest of the population of Mount Thomas had no sense of humour as well.  
The baby started crying. Tess leant forward and cradled it back into her arms.

Charlotte was feeling really uncomfortable. Idiotic. Was she really so lonely that she needed to invite ex-patients home to talk to? Did she miss Bron that much? She hadn't even been gone that long.

God. Of course she missed Bron. It was all she could do, to sleep the night through without thinking about her.

She sighed, and Tess looked at her, like she was trying to gage her thoughts.

"The gold mine."

"The what?"

Charlotte quirked her mouth, not certain if the comment was meant to make her smile.

Tess was nodding to herself.

"When you go-"

"Hey, _if_ I go."

The other woman's eyes glinted with annoyance. "It's hard to find, but if you ask the right people….."

Charlotte raised her eyebrows. "Wait-wait, you want me to dig for gold or something?"

Tess smiled. "Not gold, Charlotte." She looked down at her baby, shushing it as she rocked it to sleep. 

"Then what?"

Charlotte was losing her patience now. She was worried that maybe this woman was slightly unhinged.

"I told you. There's something about the place. You never know what you'll find."  
She met Charlotte's eyes evenly. "It depends on what you're looking for."  
Charlotte narrowed her eyes. Then she smiled, because she didn't know what else to do.

"You're telling me fairy tales? I say I'm overworked, and you want me to find a frog prince down a gold mine."

That was it. Tess Gallagher was insane. Maybe she'd escaped from a facility of some kind?

Tess just laughed. It was a strange tinkle of a laugh, not suited to the serious expression she always seemed to have.

"Look, it's not something I usually take seriously, either. I'm just telling you the truth." Then she smiled, like she'd figured Charlotte out.

"I don't believe you want a prince, anyway."

Charlotte shot her a look. Tess shrugged, standing up with her baby half-asleep in her arms.

She smiled again, at Charlotte's expression.

"Well, sometimes you have to be good at picking these things up. Saves you a lot of trouble."

"I see."

But Charlotte didn't see. And now Tess was reaching for her handbag, readying herself to go. And as much as Charlotte doubted she'd ever invite her over again, she knew this strange conversation would bug her like a rash for weeks to come.

"Let me help you….."

She held the baby as Tess slipped her jacket on, brushing strands of short blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Thanks, yeah…I better put this little one off to bed." She grinned as Charlotte passed the infant back. 

"Charlotte, when you go-"

"Tess, _if_…"

Tess shook her head and smiled. "Just make sure you have the right one. There are a few of them about the place."

She let Charlotte open the door for her. Charlotte couldn't believe she was asking this.

"Wait," She looked sheepish. "Who do I ask?"

Tess turned back, her eyes shining, like she knew she'd won.

"His name's Evan Jones. He's a local cop."

Of course Charlotte hadn't gone. Not right away, anyway.

Well, wasn't it perfectly ridiculous? A gold mine. As if some broken-down hole in the ground could have that much influence over anyone's life.

But her mind kept going back to it. Even though she only saw Tess Gallagher a few more times, before their pathetic friendship dissolved into nothing.

Maybe Charlotte was just bad at making connections.

Sometimes when she thought about Bron, her mind would wonder. She'd think of to the idiotic set of conversations she'd shared with the former police officer. It itched her mind.

She'd had a few days off, anyway.

Charlotte never thought she'd actually find it. Not with the directions she'd been given.

She took a room upstairs, in one of the pubs. She was moody from the bad sleep from the previous night, crouched-over in her car at a rest stop. And the night before that, on a lumpy motel bed.

The redhead behind the counter gave her a strange look when she asked the way to the police station.

She found it odd that it was just within walking-distance. But she stopped being amused, when she entered the building and found herself being sized-up by a tired-looking policewoman.

"It everything alright, Ma'am?"

Charlotte raised her eyebrows, looking about the station briefly.

"I'm looking for Evan…..Jones…" She managed to remember his name.

For some reason, the officer was suppressing a smirk. Badly.

"Jonesy?" She gave Charlotte another quick glance. Charlotte immediately decided she disliked her.

"Whatever you call him. Is he around?"

"He's out on a call. I'm Constable Parrish. If you have a crime to report-"

"That's not why I'm here."

Constable Parrish paused, as if considering her next comment.

"You don't seem like his type."

She walked over to a table and began making herself a coffee, before stopping and giving her companion a glance.

"Oh…do you want one?"

Charlotte shook her head, irritably.

"Excuse me? I'm not his girlfriend." She sighed. The cop made a noncommittal noise. Charlotte tried to catch her eye.

"Look, someone told me he…" She felt so stupid. "She said he'd give me directions…somewhere."

Great, well at least part of it was out. Constable Parrish looked suddenly interested. Her ponytail swished as she looked up.

"Who said this?"

Charlotte looked up at the ceiling. "Tess Gallagher?" She threw the name out.

She was surprised by the smile on the Constable's face.

"No way…you know Tess?"

"Yeah, kind of."

She was looking at Charlotte a little differently.

"So you're from Melbourne? Figures."

Charlotte shook her head. 

"Sydney."

The woman blinked. "That can't be right. What did you say your name was again?"

"Dr Charlotte Beaumont."

She wasn't sure why she had to announce her profession like that. But she enjoyed the smug feeling that washed over her, as the woman did a slight double take.

"Is she…..God, is she sick? I thought the baby ended up being ok…"

Charlotte held her hands up, feeling a little guilty. "No, no. It's nothing like that."

She paused, looking down at the grubby floor. "She mentioned a…gold….mine…"

She'd expected the Constable to give her another odd look, and was surprised when she found her smiling, smugly.

"Bloody Tess. I can't believe her. And she said I was delusional."

They both looked up as another officer pushed in, through the doors.

"Hey Jo..." Then he registered Charlotte's presence. His voice changed to a duller, professional tone.

"What seems to be the matter?"

The Constable shrugged, giving him an annoyed once-over. "Look Ben, my shift was over an hour ago."

He looked away, guiltily. "Sorry. We got held up. Susie's still at the hospital, keeping an eye on things." Then he looked at Charlotte again. Jo gestured towards her, as if she were a new piece of furniture.

"This is Tess's friend….Charlotte, right?"

Charlotte nodded.

"You're staying at the Imperial?"

"That's right…" Charlotte felt hesitant. 

The constable nodded.

"Let me grab a couple of things from my locker. I'll shout you a bite to eat."

Charlotte shrugged, too curious to turn the woman down.

"Sure."

She smiled awkwardly at the other officer, as he headed to a desk.

"I'm Ben, by the way."

"Yeah, I picked that up."

Judging by his expression, he seemed to feel sorry for Charlotte.

"Jo means well, really."

Charlotte remained quiet until Jo Parrish returned. She was afraid she'd say something incriminating.  
Jo emerged, wearing a decidedly geeky tracksuit top and jeans combination. But it did make her less…stiff-looking. 

She nodded goodbyes to her co-worker.

"Have fun."

Charlotte watched him stare back at the piles of folders littering his desk. Paperwork.  
Yeah, fun.

Jo's expression changed when they were outside. Charlotte finally registered how young she was. Mid-twenties, maybe?

"Tess told you about the gold mine?" She was grinning, her head tilting sideways.

Charlotte followed her down the street.

"Wait…how do you know about it?"

Jo shrugged. "She didn't tell you much, did she?"

"I don't know…I…"

"Well, you're here. From Sydney. Jeez. She must have said something to make you come."

Charlotte immediately thought of Bron, before she pushed her from her mind.

They sat together, in a corner table.

"Well, Tess was your professional hard-arse type. Not a believer in the nether realms, that's for bloody sure."

Jo was relaxed when she was out of uniform. Friendly. You might even call her amusing. It was a shock to Charlotte's system.

"You didn't get on too well, did you?"

Jo laughed, "You could say that. You know, she's not the type to ever… well, loosen up. Gets tiring."

Her eyes met Charlotte's. "Call me crazy, but you're not really her friend, are you?"

Charlotte found herself smiling. "No. Not for a little while."

Jo nodded.

"She must have taken _lover-boy_ down there with her. I don't know how else he'd know."

"You mean the mine?"

Of course she meant the mine. Charlotte really didn't want to know who 'loverboy' was. Bloody gossip. As if she cared who Tess was sleeping with.

Jo took a bite off her fork.

"I don't even know why I told Tess about it. I fell into the place, when I was jogging one time." She gave Charlotte a look. "That kinda thing happens a lot around here." She smirked "I keep wanting to check if we're on a hellmouth."

"A what?"

"But I did tell her. And she glared at me. Little miss stick-in-the-mud. She hooked onto the part where I was reckless going off on my own in a countryside I didn't know. _Didn't know_. Honestly. Then she completely forgets the rest of it."

Charlotte glanced at her. "You're gonna tell me, right?"

Jo nodded, holding a hand to her ponytail.

"Well, now I'm a natural brunette. Grows that way…I don't even have to dye it anymore." She watched Charlotte's face dissolve into scepticism. "No, it's true. I used to be a blonde."

Charlotte was waiting for Jo's face to crack into a smile. But she remained serious.

"You don't believe me?"

Charlotte shook her head.

"The _mine_ dyed your hair?"

Jo rolled her eyes, pushing her dinner aside. "Joke's on you. You're the one who came here to see it."

"See what? What would I be seeing?"

Jo shrugged.

"Depends. I mean, I can't say I really understand it."

"What? What does it depend on?" Charlotte felt like she was going around in circles.

Jo smiled, like she knew the answer, but wasn't about to say.  
Then she shook her head.  
"I just can't believe Tess," she let out a short laugh. "And now she's…what? Making referrals? She always was a hypocrite."

Jo offered to guide her there in the morning. But Charlotte didn't really want to share the experience. Whatever it was. Or wasn't.  
When she politely refused the help, Jo pulled out a napkin.

"You'll be surprised how easy it is to get lost."

She scribbled crooked directions with a black marker, and watched curiously as Charlotte tucked it into her pocket.

She hadn't lost her way, looking for it. But the worst part was finding a way to climb down there, without breaking her neck.  
The light was bad, for starters.  
Charlotte tripped over a protruding rock. A stab of pain shot up her leg.

"Oh, bloody great." She rubbed the spot on her ankle, feeling it begin to swell.  
Well, this was a brilliant idea.  
She continued slowly inside, trying not to think about how ridiculous this little excursion was. She shook her head at her own behaviour.

That was when she fell.

It wasn't a long drop, but she still managed to land on her damaged foot.

"Jesus, fuck."

She looked up at the light filtering in, from where she'd stumbled downwards. The ground was hard beneath her. Her ankle was really throbbing now.

Just great.

She squinted, looking around the chamber. What exactly was she looking for? She let out a bitter laugh. Great. Fantastic. There was nothing there, anyway. Just walls of rock and dirt, and the stink of stale air.

It was empty.

She didn't know why she'd expected to find Bron. Was she really that naïve? Bron was in NSW, for chrisssake.

She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"Is there anyone down here?"

What a stupid question. Her voice bounced around her.

Why had she allowed two women she barely knew to give her directions to this stinking pit? She was going to kill Tess. She would track her down and yell her lungs out at her.

That is, when she managed to get out of there.

"Hello?" She yelled back up, to where she fell from. "Is there anyone out there? Is there anyone?"

No. There was only her idiotic voice, scratchy from panic.  
She had to keep calm. Jo knew where she was. But somehow, she didn't have too much faith in the constable.

Charlotte felt something move beneath her.

She gasped, as she felt a hand, move over her leg.

"Who's there?"

But there was no one there. 

Then there were two hands, she could feel them moving up her thigh, feel them pushing her against the rock wall. They tugged her skirt, pushing it up.

"Fucking hell…."

She tried to pull away, her heart was jittering against her ribcage.

"Shhhh, you really aren't the adventurous type, are you?"

Charlotte felt her eyes focus. Or loose focus. Dizzily, she began to wonder if she'd hit her head.

"Bron?"

Even in the dimness, she could see Bron grinning. The former-nurse licked her lips.

"Don't tell me you've never done this somewhere weird before..."

Charlotte blinked, feeling Bron's lips against hers. She made a muffled noise of surprise, into the kiss.   
Bron was tugging at her underwear, sliding it down slowly.

"Bron…But you…"

"What? You don't like this?"

Bron rolled her eyes, tracing her fingers over and over Charlotte's opening. Charlotte gasped.

"Holy shit….You're not going to…"

Bron slipped her finger in. "Not going to what?" She raised her eyebrows, as Charlotte let out a noise.

"We're stuck in a fucking mine," Charlotte managed to stutter. Then she shook her head.

"Listen to me. God." She closed her eyes. "You're not real."

She felt a wave of pleasure hit her, as Bron's hand stroked her further.

"Give it a rest Beaumont." Bron laughed at Charlotte's panic. "I'm sure they'll send someone down here to get you sooner or later."

She brushed a hand over Charlotte's thighs, and slid her tongue over her opening, teasing her. Charlotte found herself moaning, tilting her head back.  
She tried to stay aware.

"No…You can't be here. This isn't-" 

"Don't, you're ruining the mood, you noodle."

Charlotte winced.

"Ow, watch it."

Bron shifted her weight off Charlotte's sore ankle. She lifted her head up.

"Sorry."

Charlotte could feel Bron's breath, over her stomach.

"Don't stop." Her voice was unsteady. Her eyes found Bron's. She hated how needy she felt.  
"Please."

Bron smiled, parting her legs, pushing Charlotte harder against the uneven wall. Kissing her thighs, before going higher. The surface behind her back was cold. And she could feel Bron's tongue, working her expertly. It was as real as the rocks and the dirt on her bare skin. Too real.

"God, Bron….oh god, shit…"

She could hardly bear the light strokes of Bron's tongue. Her lips. Pushing her till Charlotte flickered her eyes shut, as she felt her orgasm ripple over her.

Bron's body was pressed against hers. She played with Charlotte's hair, as her breathing steadied.

"You missed me. Admit it." She kissed Charlotte softly on her lips. Charlotte was gaping at her.

"Where the hell am I?"

"Somewhere in Victoria? What do you care?" Bron's voice was gravely. Just hearing it shot another wave of arousal through Charlottes body.

"You aren't here."

Bron smiled, giving Charlotte's ankle a light prod. "Looks sprained"

"I think I hit my head too…"

"You dag, you don't even have a bump."

Charlotte shivered as Bron kissed her again. 

"I can't believe you married him."

Bron shook her head. "You don't really want to talk about this."

"What the hell am I supposed to think, Bron?"

"Who wants to think, anyway? Thinking sucks."

Charlotte felt her breath leave her, as Bron slid her top over her head. She threw it somewhere in the dirt.

"God is this place a dump."

"What do you expect? It's a mine."

Bron slipped her bra off.

"When did you get so…decisive?" Charlotte stuttered. She felt the cold air hit her skin.

"Really, Charlotte. How many chances will I have?"

"Chances?" Charlotte was losing track of where she was.

"Shit… It's freezing in here, don't you think?" Bron pulled their bodies closer, grinning.  
"I can tell you do" She was caressing Charlotte's breasts.

Charlotte closed her eyes, as Bron kissed her, down her neck, her tongue trailing between her breasts. Tugging at Charlotte's nipple, which was still hard.

"You can't be doing… this…."

But Charlotte's voice was failing her. There was too much to focus on. Too much to wrap her head around.

The sound of footsteps seemed like an illusion at first.

Rocks fell, from above.  
Then she heard her name. Or she thought she did.

"Are you down there, Charlotte?"  
It seemed very far away.

More dirt trickled down beside her.

"Dr Beaumont?"

She managed to pull her clothes over herself. Her eyes darting around the empty chamber. Empty? Rocks and more rocks.

"Bron?" Her voice came out sounding frightened. Wobbly, like a child fresh from a roller coaster.

"Dr Beaumont?"

Jo. It was her voice.

The Constable managed to find her. She hauled Charlotte into the daylight, with the help of some other police officers.  
Their faces registered Charlotte's state of undress. Her dazed expression. She ineffectively tried to straighten herself out, smoothing her skirt down.

"Oh my...God….are you ok…?"

Jo's face was drained of colour.

Charlotte pushed past her, limping.

"Get me the fuck out of here."

Her heart was still beating too fast. Her body still shaking. No…maybe that was just because of the fall. It was the shock. Was she in shock?

"You people are insane! What kind of town is this?"

She yanked the car door open.

Jo had followed her.

"Shit…You look like…."

Charlotte had her eyes closed. They stung, with the effort of withholding tears. 

"Charlotte…"

Jo seemed to become increasingly uncomfortable. Charlotte was beyond this bullshit. She shrugged Jo's arm off her shoulder. Starting her car, she glared at the officer. 

Jo stood back, as she slammed the door closed.

"What the hell _happened_?"

"This place is bloody ridiculous!"

The tears were threatening to spill. Charlotte pulled the handbrake off.

She wanted to find Tess, and tear her down a peg.

Screw doing the speed limit. Maybe the air on her face would erase the feel of Bron's skin. Her touch.

She bit her lip, trying not to veer off the road in front of her.

God, she hated that fucking town.


End file.
